I'm friends with Dan (the author). That said, I'm going to accuse him of jumping on his "badge-engineering vortex" a bit too late. Porsche and Volkswagen have shared powerplants for decades... the Cayenne has always had a Volkswagen engine in its entry-level models (the Cayenne Diesel is considered entry-level). Why start bitching now?

I'd take the Cayenne Diesel over the Cayenne V6 in a heartbeat. But, I'd take the BMW X5 35d over both.